Romance of Dragons and Snakes - Chapter 152: Grandmaster

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.

Immortal arts, magic weapons, magical powers*, and the boundless spiritual Qi between heaven and earth vanished into obscurity overnight, and all the exorcists became mere mortals.

300 years later, the Five Barbarians traversed the pass, a prelude to an era of great turmoil in China. They heralded the end of the world, where thousands of drought fiends stalked the night and the collapse of the Divine Land** was imminent.

Fortunately, within this long, dark night*** where silence had fallen on all magic, a lone star still glistened brightly on the horizon.

The Heart Lamp appeared, illuminating the vast expanse around it. A 16-year-old young man, who will end his life on his 20th birthday, embarked on a journey of reclaiming the spiritual Qi of the heavens and earth that had been sealed away — only four years remain.

The road ahead was filled with countless thistles and thorns, and it seemed improbable for him to succeed.

Chen Xing, “The important thing is that I’m the last exorcist in this world, yet the only magic I am capable of is emitting light. What can I do?”

Wait patiently then. When the Dinghai pearl reappears on earth, the uncertain trajectory of everyone’s fates will be completely disrupted before converging once more.

Chen Xing, “Could I be partnered with a more normal Protector martial god?”

Isn’t your Protector really skilled in fighting?

Chen Xing, “He is good at fighting, but when he loses it he’ll hit even me……”

There’s nothing that can be done about that, you can only blame yourself for losing yourself to lust.

—

*: Buddhist term: Abhijñā, a mysterious force that surpasses the limits of mortals gained through meditation

**: old name for China

***: figurative meaning: long period of misery and oppression

- Description from Novelupdates

[Infinite Regression Genre] In any fantasy novel, regression is a guaranteed cheat key!What if it’s the ability of [Infinite Regression]?There’d be no need to worry about any bad endings. After all, the protagonist would eventually reach a happy ending.“Cheat key, my foot.”I tried it myself just to find out otherwise.The myths of regressors’ success depicted in all those novels are actually fake…It was all just vile propaganda!“This run is doomed too.”This is not a story of success; it’s a tale on the aftermath of failures.Thus begins the heartfelt documentary of a man with 1183 runs of experience!Writer: UndertakerEditor: Oh Dok-seo

[Ding! You have extracted the Dragon Empress’s unborn child. Do you wish to claim it as a pet?][Ding! You have extracted all the impurities from the Starlight Sword. Its rank has been upgraded from Epic to Legendary!][Ding! You have extracted the skill: Lightning Judgment Lv100.][Ding! You have extracted the unique Class Blood warlock!]…After dying at the hands of the God of Destruction, Gabriel found himself in the body of an insignificant character in the game Realm of Ascendancy, before its launch and convergence with reality.Witnessing the world being obliterated before his eyes, along with his friends and family, Gabriel swore to make a difference in this timeline.Armed with the God-tier Extraction Talent, follow him as he uses his knowledge of the game’s future to manipulate both NPCs and players, turning them into powerful lackeys who will lay down their lives for him without hesitation.And all he needed to do was fulfill the unique condition set by the mysterious goddess who granted him a second chance.“The skills of those you kill? Yours.”“Their strength, their talent, their souls? Yours.”“Their loot? Yours.”“Their class? Yours!”“The resources of the universe? Yours!”“Their experience points? Yours!”“You will devour the power of the strong and rise beyond the heavens.”“Kill, KILL, KILL, KILL! Kill everything that blocks your path—monsters, humans, gods, whatever! Slaughter them and extract!!”